Baseball is enjoying a renaissance, and Red Sox are missing out

Baseball is enjoying a renaissance, and Red Sox are missing out originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

By virtually every measure, baseball had a banner season.

Attendance is up. TV ratings are up. Streaming numbers are up. Youth participation is up. International viewing is up. Digital engagements are up.

Except for time of game, everything is up. Unless you’re the Red Sox.

We’re just down. Attendance fell by about 12,000 fans. NESN’s ratings, which weren’t that high to begin with, dropped five percent overall and 25 percent in the coveted 25-54 demographic. The NESN360 app is a glitchy mess.

With an uninspiring roster and an ownership group peddling the same platitudes for three straight years now, it’s easy for Red Sox fans to think baseball is struggling everywhere. But that would be false.

The playoffs are in full swing, and in cities like San Diego, New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, baseball rules.

The Padres are about to resume their rivalry with the Dodgers after eliminating the Braves on Wednesday before a rabid sea of San Diegans. The Mets extended their magical run on Thursday with a stunning victory over the Brewers. The Phillies, who boast the best home-field advantage and atmosphere in baseball, might be the overall favorites.

Elsewhere, the Tigers turned on the jets in August and haven’t looked back, dismissing the playoff-hardened Astros. Meanwhile, the Royals exulted in their sweep of the Orioles behind five-tool superstar Bobby Witt Jr. That leaves the Yankees, who believe they’re finally positioned to end their 15-year title drought.

All of this excitement, and none of it in Boston. The Red Sox used to reside at the center of the baseball universe, but now they’re some far-flung satellite like Pluto, in danger of being downgraded from a planet to whatever the astronomical term is for a celestial body that won’t spend on pitching.

Because we tend to direct our gazes inward — some would call it “provincial,” while others might choose “myopic” — it’s not necessarily clear that baseball is thriving as a whole. But it is. Has there been a greater “HOLY S***!” moment in any sport this year than Shohei Ohtani joining the 50-50 club with a 6-for-6 three-homer masterpiece?

Baseball has been delivering great moments all season, from Aaron Judge’s pursuit of 60 bombs, to Pirates phenom Paul Skenes firing 100 mph fastballs with Pedro Martinez-like command, to the Mets giving us two Game of the Year candidates in four days, culminating with Pete Alonso — in possibly his final at-bat with the franchise — launching a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning of Thursday’s winner-take-all wild card game in Milwaukee.

If you think baseball is boring, just watch New York’s franchise linchpin, Francisco Lindor, bail in the middle of his postgame interview with ESPN to play WWE hype man before a team photo.

That’s what $341 million gets you when properly allocated. Maybe a more fiscally responsible operation could’ve landed him for less, but who cares? You build your team around a player like that and then watch an entire city rally around him.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, bet on Rafael Devers, a talented hitter whose overall contributions diminish the second he leaves the batter’s box.

If you’ve watched the playoffs, you already know the Mets are no outlier. The Padres threw old friend Don Orsillo on the Jumbotron during their raucous elimination of the Braves on Wednesday night, and Petco Park exploded.

Outside of maybe Dennis Eckersley, it’s hard to imagine any Red Sox broadcaster earning that kind of reaction after five meh seasons.

We declare baseball second-class or dead, because that’s how it feels locally, but it’s not true. The Phillies fill Citizens Bank Park with crazies who evoke Fenway circa 2003. Dave Dombrowski has built the perfect team to call that place home, with bandana-sporting MVP Bryce Harper, playoff superhero Kyle Schwarber, and the fiery Nick Castellanos. They’re bearded, boisterous, and bad-assed, and they embody their city.

The Red Sox used to build teams like this, too, but the Dirt Dogs and Idiots now exist only in Netflix specials.

John Henry and Co. are content to push all the chips onto the farm system and hope that Roman Anthony and Co. don’t represent a roulette spin of the Russian variety. Youth without veterans can provide a spark, but it has its limitations.

Just ask the Orioles, who were swept out of their second straight postseason despite featuring young stars Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson. They’re likely to lose ace Corbin Burnes and slugging outfielder Anthony Santander in free agency, which means their experience deficit will only grow.

On the flip side, the Dodgers are desperate to prove their star-laden roster can win it all in a non-COVID year, and they’re about to give the great Ohtani his first postseason exposure. It is the single biggest storyline of the playoffs, and if he delivers, he could become the most famous athlete in the world.

So don’t try to tell me baseball is boring. It just feels that way if you live in Boston.